Kayla Jones: Leading By Faith
RALEIGH, NC – As she enters her senior year, it is hard to think of Kayla Jones doing anything but helping lead the Wolfpack this season. As she drops 25 points against conference rival Boston College and averaging a solid 12 points and 8 rebounds per game. One would expect her to be arrogantly boasting to anyone within shouting distance about how great she is on the court. Instead, Kayla humbly credits God for her accolades.
As a senior in high school, she played for small Riverside High School, becoming one of the best players in the country. She found herself becoming closer to God as she dominated the basketball court. At the same time, she found herself trying very hard to not be in trouble in school, the result of her mother working in the school system. This fear helped her to find herself on the all-conference academic team as she closed out her high school career. It seemed as though God had led her to be on the “fast track” to success as she signed to play basketball for NC State.
As she entered her freshman year with the Wolfpack, she found a much different path than she had during high school. She had gone from superstar to averaging a mere 3.6 points per game and struggling to see time in the game. She then found herself struggling to keep her spirits up during this year. While she was unhappy about her place on the team, she trusted God and the plan he had for her life. One night, she called home to tell her dad she thought she wanted to quit basketball. It was then that God stepped in and spoke through her father as he told her she could not leave the team. As Jones recalls her freshman year, she says, “God taught me humility that year.”
It is through this mindset of humility that God prepared Jones to enter her sophomore year with the intention of being a learner. God allowed her to grow closer to him while simultaneously growing as a player. Jones noticed, under a God-driven mentality, her playing time increased to 17 minutes per game as she found herself in a more incremental role on the team.
During her junior year, Jones found herself stepping into more of a leadership role on the team. She was now averaging 29 minutes per game and was one of the pivotal players on the Wolfpack team. During this time, Jones felt her relationship continue to grow as she looked for more ways to grow as a leader for the program. It was through this strong relationship that God used her coach to speak to her, telling her to work harder during the offseason. Jones decided to listen and growing even stronger in her relationship with God, which also led her to enter her senior year full of faith in God and in her ability to be a leader for the Wolfpack.
Already, during her senior season, she has found herself winning ACC Player of the Week, dropping an incredible 25 points against conference foe Boston College, and is nearly averaging a double-double with 12 points and eight rebounds per game. When asked about an explanation for becoming such a great leader for NC State, Jones gives God all the credit for her success. She claims that it is only through her trust in God’s journey for her life that she finds herself among the best in college basketball this season.
While Kayla Jones continues to grow in her faith, she seems to be strengthening her relationship with Jesus. As she helps to lead the Wolfpack, she admits she would not be the same leader she is today without going through the struggles she did as a freshman. It is through her experience at NC State that she has learned to trust the path God has for her life. While God prepared Jones for this season through her first three years of college, regardless of her next steps after the Wolfpack, She will be doing it with God.